Things to do in Rome in June

Things to do in Rome in June

Many of you visit Rome in June just to find out that the heat can become unbearable, especially if the trip hasn’t been planned carefully. Here are a few tips to make your itinerary more pleasant: (1) wake up early to visit the Colosseum and go to the Vatican in the afternoon, and (2) take a guided walking/driving tour by an airconditioned minivan organized by Eden walks.

Rome is not only made of ancient walls, cobblestones, monuments and squares with fountains which everybody wants to visit. Rome is also a home to hundreds of amazing churches, ancient catacombs, beautiful parks, nearby beaches, delicious restaurants and caffes. Below is a small representative list of important sites that you could enjoy while dreaming of crawling inside arefrigerator.

Important churches with cool undergrounds not to miss.

The Basilica of San Clemente

The Basilica that lies on Piazza Saint Clement adjacent to via Saint John in Lateran – not far from the Colosseum – is built on three levels of different epochs. The bottom part, the most ancient, was initially part of Rome’s mint, then moved by Domiziano. Close to this in the II century a “domus” (home) was built, in whose courtyard in the III century a Mitreo was built (sanctuary of Mitra, god that was in charge of the equinoxes), where the main of the three areas with lowered vault was covered with pumice stone to fake a cavern.
The Mitreo soon became a “Domus ecclesia” (where the first Christians secretly officiated their rites) maybe of St Clement, identified like the fourth pope and made martyr by Domiziano. Above these buildings in the IV century the Inferior St Clement Basilica was built, that constitutes the second level. It’s divided into three aisles by columns, it’s preceded by a narthex and it was one of the most important palaeo-Christian basilicas.

Ruined by the Normans in 1084 it was covered with earth and reinforced to support a new Basilica that was put above the rests of the ancient in 1108 by wish of Pasquale II. Finished in 1123 it presents a nice medieval quadric porch that precedes the entrance of the Basilica di San Clemente. 

The Basilica of Saint Praxedes

The Basilica of Saint Praxedes, located in the Esquilinodistrict, was built by Pasquale I in the ninth century and restored several times, over the centuries, altering its original feature.

In the middle of the floor a porphyry disk covers a well, where, according to the tradition, Saint Praxedescollected the remains and the blood of the martyrs.

Inspired by classical mausoleums, the Chapel of Saint Zenon is the most important Byzantine monument preserved in Rome, commissioned by Pasquale I as the monumental tomb of his mother Theodora. Inside there are splendid mosaics with figures of saints on the walls, and above all, on the vault, the figure of the Savior within a medallion.

Upon entering the San Zeno Chapel, located in the Basilica di Santa Prassede, a dark marble object, spotted with white, lies in a niche to the right. The object appears to be an oddly large chess piece, but is allegedly the column upon which Jesus Christ was flogged in his final years.

The Basilica of Saint Agnese

Although a bit of a hike, it’s well worth searching out this intriguing medieval church complex. Set over the catacombs where St Agnes was buried, it comprises the Basilica di Sant'Agnese Fuori le Mura, home to a stunning Byzantine mosaic of the saint, and the Mausoleo di Santa Costanza, a circular 4th-century mausoleum decorated by some of Christendom's oldest mosaics.

The original basilica, remains of which can be seen in a field adjacent to the current complex, was built in the 4th century for Costanza, daughter of the emperor Costantino. It was subsequently abandoned in the 7th century and replaced by the current basilica, which has itself been much modified over the centuries. Its star attraction, and one of the few original features, is its golden apse mosaic. This is one of the best examples of Byzantine art in Rome and has survived intact. It shows St Agnes, flanked by Popes Honorius and Symmachus, standing over the signs of her martyrdom – a sword and a flame. According to tradition, the 13-year-old Agnes was sentenced to be burnt at the stake, but when the flames failed to kill her, she was beheaded on Piazza Navona and buried beneath this church.